Nashville bans all electric scooters following rider death
The mayor of Nashville, in the state of Tennessee, announced last Friday, June 21, that all publicly-accessible electric scooters operating within the city will be banned and removed “immediately.”
Image: AFP/Eric Baradat
Following the death of an intoxicated individual who was killed while riding on a Bird electric scooter in Nashville, the city’s mayor David Briley announced on Friday that all e-scooters will be “removed from the Metro rights-of-way immediately upon the enactment of the Council legislation.”
Today, I notified Nashville's seven scooter companies of my decision to end the pilot period and ban e-scooters from our streets. We have seen the public safety and accessibility costs that these devices inflict, and it is not fair to our residents for this to continue. pic.twitter.com/1IBmZRsRgF
— Mayor David Briley (@MayorBriley) June 21, 2019
Despite the city police determining that the scooter rider was responsible for the accident, Mayor Briley believes that the vehicles produce a sufficient number of safety concerns — including “improper riding, parking violations, and poor rider education” — that the shared e-scooters should be banned completely.
In May, Briley requested that all shared urban mobility device companies operating within the city address these various concerns within 30 days; however, in response to the death, he has recommended to the Metro Council that all e-scooter programs are discontinued.
The city remains open to the possibility of shared mobility devices operating within Nashville, but only if “they are able to meet our requirements for safety and accessibility.” RGA/JB
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